The Holy Spirit and Water

Life, in the biblical imagery is a journey through the desert.  The end of that journey is God. We must seek him more. It is God’s Spirit that gives us this thirst and also meets it.  As St John sees it, within the believer is pure water bubbling up from the interior fountain which is God’s Holy Spirit.  The believer has life within him/her, life in such abundance that they can offer to share it freely with others. If they do this – perhaps just through a thoughtful deed, an expression of gratitude, a smile, - they may be a channel of new life and strength to others.  The cup of cold water offered to the  weary traveller in the desert enables them to travel a little farther with a lighter heart.  Have we not all experienced that?  Thus in and around the saint the desert becomes an oasis and fresh water flows. The goodness of the human heart can create a paradise for others.

Thus in the desert of life there are many who – though they may not even know it – are “other Christs”. They may become fountains of water to many a weary traveller. Their tenderness and concern give to those who help a sense of holiness, a taste of that love in which all life is rooted. In them, the thirsty discover a “spring of water bubbling up to eternal life (Jn4:7)